Surrounded by family, friends and more than 100 Rotarians, John Gallagher accepted the charge to serve as the 75th president of the Rotary Club of Naperville during the Installation Dinner held in the Pavilion at Meson Sabika on June 26. Gallagher will join presidents of 34,000 Rotary Clubs throughout the world to serve July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, during what’s considered the Rotary year.
Liz Zienty wrapped up her year as president of the Rotary Club of Naperville by presenting Mayor George Pradel with the 2014 Rita Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award.
In turn, a generous donation from Rotary Charities was given in honor of the Mayor to Naperville Responds for Our Veterans, a nonprofit group that assists veterans in need of home repairs. NRFOV President Pat Bowler accepted the gift from Rotary Charities President Bill Anderson. The annual Installation Dinner was held in the Pavilion at Meson Sabika where many other connections were made, too.
During the evening’s festivities, Past RCN President Pat Merryweather, a military mother, also received generous donations from Rotary Charities as well as Rotarian Hossein Jamali to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project.
The annual installation dinner with its changing of the guard always is a time to recognize all leaders in club who step up during the course of the Rotary year. Thursday evening Sandy Davis was named Rookie of the Year; Alma Jones was awarded Rotarian of the Year; and Wendy Gross earned the Four Avenues of Service Award.
Service above Self Awards were presented to Sandy Benson, Jini Clare, Donna Dziedzic, Brien Nagle, Rachel Ossyra, and John Sims.
In addition to Rotary Club of Naperville members and their spouses and guests, the club was honored to host past Rotary International District 6450 Governors Pat Merryweather-Arges and Brian Andersen as well as the incoming District 6450 Governor Nicki Scott. Scott is also a member of the Rotary Club of Naperville/Sunrise.
Rotary in Naperville since 1941
For 72 years, the Rotary Club of Naperville has provided service to the community by helping others. Optimistic Gallagher was mindful of all the past Rotarians when he showcased the vision for his presidential year, including to maintain the tradition of being “one of the best Rotary Clubs in Illinois and in the country.” Yet with that reputation, Gallagher aims to update and move forward by attracting more youth with a better understanding of technology. He also knows his year will go quickly.
The list by decades of Rotary Club of Naperville Presidents since 1941 provides a glimpse of community spirit that continues to resonate in this community where thousands of citizens are dedicated to service as members of many organizations. It’s interesting to note businesses, buildings, parks, schools, roads, even a driving range, have been named in recognition of former presidents of the Rotary Club of Naperville.
(1941 – 42) Stanley Law; (1942 – 43) Walter Fredenhagen; (1943 – 44) Dr. R. J. Fanning; (1944 – 45) Ralph Beebe; (1945 – 46) Milton Stauffer; (1946 – 47) Harold Heininger; (1947 – 48) Robert Raymond; (1948 – 49) Paul Eller; (1949 – 50) Guy Oliver; (1950 – 51) Harold Kester;
(1951 – 52) Byron Grush; (1952 – 53) Robert Parcells; (1953 – 54) Mark Schmidt; (1954 – 55) Paul Shiffler; (1955 – 56) Robert Marsell; (1956 – 57) William Friedrich; (1957 – 58) Wilmert Wolf; (1958 – 59) Dr. E. H. Kupke; (1959 – 60) Robert Van Adestine; (1960 – 61) Walter Schall;
(1961 – 62) Hartley Nelson; (1962 – 62) Tony Castagnoli; (1963 – 64) Harold Cromer; (1964 – 65) Harry McArdle;(1965 – 66) Arlo Schilling; (1966 – 67) Eugene Morris; (1967 – 68) Truman Fowler; (1968 – 69) Alfred Rubin; (1969 – 70) George Pilkenton; (1970 – 71) Donald Shanower;
(1971 – 72) Robert Anderson; (1972 – 73) Larry Gregory; (1973 – 74) Donald Hennessy; (1974 – 75) Grant Graver; (1975 – 76) Warren Wood; (1976 – 77) Leonard Koeder; (1977 – 78) John Neesley; (1978 – 79) Tom Eganhouse*; (1979 – 80) David Stuart; (1980 – 81) Paul Lehman; (1981 – 82) Art Davis; (1982 – 83) Gene Mealer; (1983 – 84) Frank Hnilo; (1984 – 85) Cliff Crone; (1985 – 86) Norris Shehan; (1986 – 87) Ward Stearns; (1987 – 88) Norm Zienty; (1988 – 89) Robert Poole; (1989 – 90) Charles George; (1990 – 91) Glen Ekey;
(1991 – 92) Tom Bursh; (1992 – 93) Bill Pierce; (1993 – 94) Tim West; (1994 – 95) Rita Harvard – First Woman #54;(1995 – 96) Jim Bergeron; (1996 – 97) Robert Gillen; (1997 – 98) John Matsock; (1998 – 99) Gene Drendel; (1999 – 2000) Ken Kolbet; (2000 – 2001) Brand Bobosky;
(2001 – 2002) Barbara Dwyer; (2002 – 2003) Roy Bynum; (2003 – 2004) Peter Crawford; (2004 – 2005) Jerry Feldott; (2005 – 2006) Bill Anderson; 2006 – 2007) Ed Channell; (2007 – 2008) Mike Maloney; (2008 – 2009) Bill Garlough; (2009- 2010) Pat Merryweather; (2010-2011) Bob Estvander;
(2011-2012) Sun Kwok; (2012-2013) Frank Slocumb; (2013-2014) Liz Zienty; (2014-2015) John Gallagher.
*1978 John Bobbitt died one month after assuming the presidency, then VP, stepped up. At that time, there was no president-elect. Tom Eganhouse was named president.
For more information, visit www.napervillerotary.clubexpress.com.
Four Rotary Clubs of Naperville
The Rotary Club of Naperville is one of four Rotary clubs in the city of Naperville. Every Rotary club is a different size with different goals and projects in the name of “Service Above Self.” Naperville Rotary clubs are members of Rotary District 6450 and Rotary International.
Through the inspired commitment of its members, Rotary provides college scholarships, funding for medical screenings, food pantries, homeless shelters, clean water and health initiatives worldwide, and the most important signature project of this generation, eliminating Polio.
The Rotary Club of Naperville meets weekly at 12:15PM for lunch on Thursdays in the Pavilion at Meson Sabika.
The other three Rotary Club of Naperville meet at different times in order to attract members at times convenient to their schedules.
Rotary Club of Naperville/Sunrise, chartered in 1991, meets at 7AM Fridays at Naperville Country Club.
Rotary Club of Naperville/Downtown, chartered in 2007, meets at 4:44PM Wednesdays at Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House in the Main Street Promenade.
Rotary Club of Naperville/South A.M., chartered in 2008, meets at 7AM Tuesdays at Springbrook Golf Club.
For more info about Rotary International, visit www.rotary.org.
